Evaluating the Quality Of Life in Dry Eye Patients and Identifying Risk Factors in this Study

Background: Dry eye illness (DED), a typical multifactorial condition, influences a huge level of individuals around the world.

Aim: The purpose of this study is to assess the health and quality of life of individuals with dry eye and identify risk factors associated with patients.

Methods: We collected information from 66 dry eye patients. 60% of the patients were men, and 40% were women, and their ages varied from 24 to 58. Every patient who took part in this study was monitored at the different hospitals in the Ophthalmology Department in Iraq during February 2023 – April 2024. A questionnaire measuring dry eye signs, visual acuity, and quality of life was given to each patient. The influence of risk variables for the long-term quality of life for people with dry eye was assessed by a univariate evaluation.

Results: 66 dry eye patients were included in this study. Patients in the age group (46–58) years had a significant enrolled rate compared with other groups, which got 50%. the most symptomatic factor was singing sensation in the eyes with 25.76%, where TBUT was 4.7, and S1T was 4.2, corneal fluorescein staining was 0.4 in the right eye, while TBUT was 4.64 and S1T was 4.6 corneal fluorescein staining was 0.2. In the assessment of health quality of life, we found general health was (49.18), general vision (62.67), ocular pain (65.82), color vision (97.60), ocular symptoms (- 0.57), SAS (51.45), and SDS (53.30).

Summary: Dry eye patients' vision-related quality of life was compromised and linked to anxiety and discouragement, further solidifying the illness as a serious general medical condition deserving of greater resources and attention.